As SeaWorld continues with work to improve a section of path near its Ingraham Street entrance, the city’s plan for a path to completely circle Mission Bay can move a couple steps forward.
“The path is going to be enhanced and wider in certain areas, which will be safer for pedestrians and path users,” said SeaWorld spokesman Dave Koontz. “And the old bike path was just wearing out. There were a lot potholes.”
Plans for the 17-foot-wide path include a strip of landscaping 4 feet to 10 feet wide separating bicycle from pedestrian paths, according to city documents.
Though this section of the path should have been done by 2005, a city-sponsored study of the old landfill near South Shores delayed the project, he said. This section should be done by late May, Koontz said.
The upgrade of the nearly mile-long stretch of asphalt is part of a deal between the city and SeaWorld that dates back to a 2002 agreement.
Paul Jacob with the Mission Bay Park Committee said piecemeal plans to improve the path date back to the bay’s beginnings.
“When [private leaseholders] develop a portion of the shoreline on the bay, [they] include a path with that section of improvements. So ultimately the goal is to create a continuous path around the bay,” Jacob said.
Though most of the path is complete, bikes and pedestrians still have to use Pacific Beach Drive on the north end of the bay to get all the way around, he said.
Park planners also need to find a way for pedestrians and cyclists to cross Rose Creek.
“[The Rose Creek bridge] is the biggest obstacle to circumnavigating the bay,” Jacob said.
The bridge would connect to existing park improvements near De Anza Cove, he said.
The city doesn’t have enough money to build the bridge yet, he said.
Though the city pays for most of the improvements along the path, Mission Bay Park and SeaWorld made plans in 2002 as part of the Mission Bay Park Master Plan that includes SeaWorld’s master plan.
Before the agreement, San Diego voters approved Proposition D in 1998 allowing Sea World to break the California Coastal Commission’s 30-foot height limit rule. The rule limits the height of developments in coastal areas.
Passage of the 1998 measure allows SeaWorld to submit projects more than 30 feet tall, which includes the parks Journey to Atlantis water adventure.
Along with the completion of the segment of the Mission Bay bike path, workers continue to build a different path connecting Ocean Beach with Mission Valley.
At a cost of about $2.5 million, the two-lane path would extend along an existing pathway from Ocean Beach and along the north side of the Interstate 8 ending at Hotel Circle Place. City officials have said they expect that project to be done by early summer.
For more information on Mission Bay Park and the city’s Park and Recreation Department visit www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation.